Authority

• The committee is an advisory committee and does not have delegated authority, reporting to Council as required.
• The committee may appoint working groups to pursue specific projects and issues on an as-needed basis.
• The committee has no financial delegation authority.
• Individual committee members have no authority to independently represent the committee, the City or Council or provide independent submissions on behalf of the committee to any external forums or organisations.

Objectives and Functions

• To advise Council on the implementation of the Ba-gurrk Gender Equity Action Plan.
• To advise Council on incorporating gender equity into other policy, strategy, or projects, as required.
• To increase recognition of the achievements and contributions of women from City of Greater Geelong.
• To increase active citizenship and leadership opportunities for women from all backgrounds.
• To identify opportunities, barriers and emerging issues related to participation, representation, recognition, safety, and wellbeing of women in Geelong.
• To strengthen links between Council and women in the community, including organisations, networks, groups, and individuals.

Definitions

Act: The Local Government Act 2020.

CEO: The Chief Executive Officer of the City appointed by Council.

City: The administration of the Greater Geelong City Council, led by the Chief Executive Officer.

Council: The Greater Geelong City Council.

Councillor: Elected officials representing the City of Greater Geelong, including the Mayor.

Council officer: All staff of the City, including all contractors and volunteers engaged by the City, and the Executive Leadership Team.

Conflict of interest: Has the same meaning as defined in the Act.

ELT: Executive Leadership Team consisting of the Directors of the City who all report to the Chief Executive Officer.

Gender diverse: An umbrella term for a range of genders expressed in different ways. Gender diverse people use many terms to describe themselves. Language in this area is dynamic, particularly among young people, who are more likely to describe themselves as non-binary (Department of Families, Fairness and Housing, 2022).

Gender equity: Gender equity recognises that people of different genders have different life experiences, levels of power and access to decision-making, therefore different approaches are needed to provide equitable outcomes for all.

Gender equality: Gender equality means equality of rights, opportunities, responsibilities, and outcomes between persons of different genders.

Women: The City of Greater Geelong uses the term women to refer to anyone who identifies as a women, including cis-gender and transgender women.

WiCLAC: Women in Community Life Advisory Committee.

Terms of reference

Committee Term

Term starts: The committee was established by Council in July 2013.

Term ends: The committee’s term ends on the day of a Council resolution to abolish the Committee.

Membership

Make-up of the Committee: The committee will be made up from the following eligible members:

• One councillor (Chair)
• A minimum of six and maximum of twelve community members chosen to represent the interests of women in the City of Greater Geelong. Community representatives should, as far as possible, be balanced in regard to age, disability, ethnicity, and geographical location. Community representatives can include:
  • individual community members
  • representatives of non-profit organisations, groups or networks that work to improve the participation, representation, recognition, safety, and wellbeing of people who identify as women in the City of Greater Geelong.
• City officers (non-voting members):
  • Director Community Life, or delegate
  • Other City officers, as required.

Role and responsibilities of members: Members are expected to perform the following roles:

• Maintain knowledge of issues and matters related to the objectives and functions of the committee
• Represent the interests of women from all backgrounds in Geelong
• Share information with other members
• Maintain confidentiality of information designated confidential
• Prepare for each meeting, read the documentation in advance, and make reasonable effort to attend each meeting
• Prepare and present information on their topics of specialised knowledge or expertise, where relevant
• Provide feedback or endorse minutes of each meeting.

Membership Eligibility:

• Members must be able to demonstrate commitment to gender equity and be appropriately experienced and skilled in matters relating to gender equity and/or women’s participation, representation, leadership, recognition, safety, and wellbeing.
• Members must live, work or study in the City of Greater Geelong.
• To maintain eligibility, members must adhere to relevant Council policies that maintain a safe and respectful working environment, including the Workplace Behaviour Policy and the Occupational Health and Safety Policy.
• Membership of the Committee is open to all genders. This recognises that to achieve gender equity, changes in all areas of communities, organisations and government, commitment and effort will be required by women, men, trans and gender diverse people.

Nomination of Members:

• City officers must be nominated by their respective director having regard to their current role with the City and their knowledge and skills that relate to the committee’s objectives and functions.
• Independent community representatives will be invited onto the committee by the CEO through a process of seeking expressions of interest.
• Non-profit organisations will be invited by the CEO to nominate their own representatives.

Appointment of members:

• Council appoints councillors by resolution. Council appoints those councillors holding the chair and/or deputy chair positions of the portfolio that relates closest to the committee’s objectives and functions.
• The CEO appoints City officers, independent community representatives and non-profit organisation representatives.

Length of appointment of members:

• Eligible members will be appointed for a period of two years. Members may serve a maximum of three consecutive terms (six years), unless decided otherwise by the Committee to ensure continuity and consistency of business.
• Members must continue to meet membership requirements to maintain their membership. If a member no longer meets membership requirements, their membership will be revoked.
• Where a member does not attend three consecutive meetings without adequate cause and/or notice that person’s membership may be revoked.

Filling casual vacancies:

• If a vacancy occurs for any reason, it will be filled at the discretion of the CEO.
  Access to Participate
• The City will provide reasonable support to members to enable them to participate in the Committee by addressing barriers relating to disability, caring responsibilities, or financial hardship. This may include providing support for disability access requirements, childcare, or transport costs.

Chairperson

Appointment of the chairperson:

• Council by resolution, will appoint a councillor to be chairperson.
• If the chairperson is absent from a meeting, the meeting shall be chaired by the most senior City officer present.

Role and responsibility of the chairperson: The chairperson is expected to perform the following roles:

• Ensure the committee follows the terms of reference;
• Provide input on the agenda;
• Conduct meetings with the degree of formality appropriate; and
• Facilitate the flow of information during meetings.

Meeting visitors

• Any person may be invited to attend meetings to give a presentation or provide information related to the committee’s business. Approval for attendance must be provided by the Director Community Life, or delegate.
• Meeting visitors will be made aware of their responsibilities and obligations about conflicts of interest and use and disclosure of information.

Meetings

Frequency of meetings:

• The committee will meet four times per year but may meet more regularly as it deems necessary.
  Notice of a meeting will be given to all members at least two weeks in advance of the meeting unless exceptional circumstances exist.
• Previous meeting minutes and agendas will be circulated at least one week prior to the meeting.

Minimum meeting attendees:

• A quorum for a meeting shall be one more than half of the membership of the committee.
• The minimum number of meeting attendees must at all times include at least one community representative.

Conflicts of interest:

• If a member has a conflict of interest in relation to an agenda item this must be declared, and the member must refrain from participating in the decision-making process.

Misuse of information:

• All information received by members in the course of their work as members is confidential and must not be shared with any party outside Council, unless specified as an item for distribution.

Reporting

• Accurate minutes will be kept of each meeting. Full copies of the minutes, including attachments, will be provided to all members no later than one week following each meeting.
• The City of Greater Geelong will report progress on the Ba-gurrk Gender Equity Action Plan to the Committee on a quarterly basis.
• The City of Greater Geelong will report on the activities of the Committee to Council on an annual basis.

Secretariat

• The Social Equity and Safety Unit of the City of Greater Geelong accepts responsibility for directly supporting the committee and will provide secretariat services for the committee. This involves convening meetings, providing meeting agendas one week prior to meetings, recording meeting minutes and circulating one week after meetings, and publishing the annual report to Council and the community.

Review

• The terms of reference for this committee will be reviewed every four years.

Records

Records shall be retained for at least the period shown below.